Lifeline and Link-up, Free
Phones and Free Cell Phones Programs from the Government

Starting in 2005, the Federal Government, in a partnership between the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners (NARUC),
started the Lifeline Across America national program. While Lifeline
has been in existence since 1985, the goal of this
program is to sign up poor and low-income Americans into the government's
Lifeline and Link-up free phone and free cell phone programs.

Many Americans do not have home phone service. This is often
because they are poor or low income and just can't afford either the initial
phone set up and installation fees or the monthly service bills.

Some facts from the FCC regarding the need for free phones and free cell phones for the
poor and low income:

As of July 2006, approximately 6.3 million American households did not
have telephones.

More than 13 percent of American households with an annual income
below $10,000 do not have telephones.

For many Americans, free phones and free cell phones are not a luxury. Americans
without free phones and free cell phones when they have no other means of
obtaining are cutoff from the ability to make emergency 911 calls, call
their family or neighbors for help and assistance, make or change medical
appointments, call for transportation. Of course people with
disabilities make up a higher portion of low income Americans than the
general population. There is a real need for free government phones
and cell phones for people with disabilities.

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Who Can Qualify for Government Free Phones and Free Cell Phones?

Government provided free phones and free cell phones are available to
Americans in every part of the U.S. Each state determines what makes
you eligible to receive a free government phone or free government cell phone. Some
states have their own Lifeline program and can come up with their own
criteria regarding eligibility. Those states that do not have their
own Lifeline low income phone program and are using the federal Lifeline and
Link-Up free phone and free cell phone government programs, low income consumers must either have an
income that is at or below 135% of the federal
Poverty Guidelines, or participate in one of the following assistance
programs:

Medicaid,

Food Stamps,

Supplemental Security Income (SSI),

Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8),

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP),

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or

The National School Lunch Programís Free Lunch
Program.

Residents of Native American Indian and Alaska Native
tribal communities qualify for enhanced Lifeline and Link-Up support if they
meet one of the criteria listed above, qualify under their stateís Lifeline
program (if their state has its own Lifeline program), or participate in one
of the following assistance programs:

For household income to be at or
below 135% of the
Federal Poverty Guidelines, total income for the household must
not be more than the following:

Number of People
In Your Family

Lower 48 / DC

Hawaii

Alaska

1

$14,702

$16,929

$18,360

2

$19,859

$22,856

$24,813

3

$25,016

$28,782

$31,266

4

$30,173

$34,709

$37,719

5

$35,330

$40,635

$44,172

6

$40,487

$46,562

$50,625

7

$45,644

$52,488

$57,078

8

$50,801

$58,415

$63,531

These income levels are based on data
from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For each additional
person in the household beyond eight, add the following dollar amounts to
the income eligibility requirements: $5,157 for persons living in the Lower
48 and D.C., $6,453 for Alaska, and $5,927 for Hawaii.

What exactly are Lifeline and Link-up, the Free Phone and Free Cell Phones Government Programs?

Lifeline provides qualifying low income
Americans with a discounted or subsidized monthly phone or cell phone
service charges. The subsidy can be as high as $10.00 per month but
is dependent on your state's requirements.

Link-Up provides qualifying low income
Americans with a subsidy of up to $30 (1/2 of the cost or $30 whichever is
less) for their phone and cell phone startup fees. Link-Up
also allows low income Americans to get up to $200 to be used for set-up
fees on the phone or cell phone, interest free for up to one year

Who Pays so That Low Income Americans Can Get Subsidized Government Free
Phones and Free Cell Phones?

The federal Universal Service Fund (USF) pays for the
government subsidized free phone and free cell phone programs, Lifeline Assistance and
Link-Up America. The Low Income Program of the Universal Service Fund
is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). All telecommunications service providers (wireline
phone companies, wireless phone companies, paging service companies, and
certain Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers) pay to the federal
USF based on a percentage of their interstate and international end-user
telecommunications revenues. The telecommunication companies in turn
pass these fees onto the American consumers. To connect the dots, the
program is funded by the USF, which in turn is funded by the
telecommunication companies, which in turn in is funded by American
consumers as the telecommunication companies, while not required to do so,
do in fact mostly pass these costs along to all their consumers (except the
ones participating in the Lifeline and Link-Up programs). So
ultimately American telecommunication consumers pay for the government
subsidized free phone and free cell phone programs, Lifeline and Link-Up. Some companies
who are involved in subsidized government free cell phones point out that the free cell
phones that they give to low income Lifeline and Link-up consumers are
not funded by the USF and therefore not funded by the American taxpayers.
This is absolutely true.
The USF is not funded through taxes, rather it is funded by fee that the
telephone and wireless companies pass along to their consumers. It
would be sort of like instead of paying a state gas tax, the state all of a
sudden changed it to a highway use fee, but now said it was no longer a
"tax". Ultimately it's the same
thing but words do matter. If you also think about it for a second,
almost any wireless carrier is
willing to give away a free cell phone to any of their subscribers, totally
unrelated to the free government cell phone programs of Lifeline and Link-Up.
Most cell phone users choose to upgrade their cell phone to a better model
but there is
almost always a free cell phone option that is available. That's the
nature of the cell phone industry business model, it's the
monthly service plan where the wireless carriers make their money. The fact is that
even if a wireless company gives away free cell phones for use by
low income participants in the Lifeline and Link-up programs, they are
overall making money with the government subsidized service charges and set
up fees, plus I'm sure many low income consumers simply pay the wireless
companies beyond the maximum monthly service charge subsidy of $10. The
bottom line is that if you take away the USF, which is largely funded by
American consumers in the form of fees not taxes, and therefore the
Lifeline and Link-Up free government phone and free government cell phone
programs, wireless companies would cease to participate in the free
government cell phone programs. And then you have to understand that
the whole point of the program is to help ensure all Americans, regardless
of lack of income, have a minimum level of communications so that they call
call emergencies, doctors, family, friends, etc.

What is the Size of the Subsidized Government Free Phones and Free Cell
Phones Programs, Lifeline and Link-up?

Lifeline and Link-up provide subsidies to telephones and cell phones
to provide basic, local service for more than 7 million low income
Americans.

Approximately 1,700 telephone companies can provide free government
phone and cell phone service via the Lifeline and Link-Up programs.

As of 2009, states with above 50% participation rates (of those low
income Americans who are eligible) in the Lifeline program include:
Alaska, California, Oklahoma, Montana, and Virginia.

What benefits have we seen from the Subsidized Government Free Phones and Free
Cell Phones Programs, Lifeline and Link-up?

According to the FCC:

Since 1985, the percentage of low
income households who have taken advantage of the government free phone
and cell phone program has grown from 80.0% to 89.7%.

States that that have provided a
high level of Lifeline support for telephone service for low-income
consumers experienced an average growth in penetration of 4.0% for
low-income households from March 1997 to March 2008.

Conclusions: If we spend money,
market, and make available free government phones and free cell phones, low
income Americans will use the programs such as Lifeline and Link-up and
enjoy the safety and security that a free phone or free cell phone from the
government provides. The number of low income Americans who now have
access to all the safety benefits provided by free government cell phones
and free government phones has increased significantly since the start of
the Lifeline Across America national program. Local phone and cell phone service is required
for the safety of all Americans.

I think I'm eligible, How do I sign for Free Phones or Free Cell Phones
from the Government?

The first place to start is usually contacting your
local telephone provider. In other states, low income consumers
must apply for Lifeline and Link-up programs through a designated state
agency or third party administrator. The best place to find out how to
sign up is at the Universal Services Fund website titled,
Apply for Lifeline and Link-Up Program Support. On the USF website, for
each state, a link to the application procedure, brochure, or who to contact
is provided.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lifeline and Link-Up, Free Phones and Free
Cell Phones Programs from the Government

Can I use both Lifeline and Link-Up together at
the same time? Yes. If you don't currently have telephone or
cell phone service, you can use both Lifeline and Link-Up. If you
already have telephone or cell phone service, then you can't use Link-Up,
but you can use Lifeline.

Can my Lifeline free cell phone or free phone
service be cut off or stopped if I don't pay my long distance bill? The
telephone provider cannot cut off local service if you don't pay your long
distance bill. However, your long distance service will be blocked
until you pay your bill.

What if I have a low credit rating, can I still
get a free phone or free cell phone from the government? Yes you
can still get your free government phone. The telephone company may
block long distance service however.

What if I have an unpaid telephone bill?
Can I still participate in Lifeline and Link-Up to get a free government
cell phone? Yes, the telephone company can require that you pay
any local telephone service bills prior to providing you with a free
government phone or free government cell phone but can't make you pay any
outstanding long distance charges. The telephone company can however
block your long distance service from your free government phone or free
government cell phone until any outstanding long distance bills are paid.

Does participation in the Lifeline and Link-Up
free government phone programs affect my eligibility for other government
services like SSI, Medicaid, food stamps, housing, etc.? No
participation in Lifeline and Link-Up does not in any way affect your
eligibility or participation in any other program.

Are Lifeline and Link-Up free government phone
programs just for the elderly? disabled? No, eligibility
requirements for Lifeline and Link-Up is determined by each state but
in all cases it is open to all Americans regardless of age or disability
rating.

What if I already have a phone, can I still
qualify for Lifeline and Link-Up and get my free government phone?
No, the Lifeline and Link-Up benefits are available to only one telephone
per household.

What if I already have a land line phone, can I
still qualify for Lifeline and Link-Up and get a free government cell phone?
No, the Lifeline and Link-Up benefits are available to only one telephone
(whether land line or cell phone) per household.

Who can Provide Free Phones or Free
Cell Phones from the Lifeline and Link-Up Government Programs?

There are over 1,700 telephone companies that participate in the Lifeline
and Link-Up government programs providing free phones and free cell phones.
In addition many wireless cell phone carriers are authorized to participate
in the program to serve low income Americans. Which specific companies
and cell phone providers are authorized to provide free government cell
phones and free government phones is usually left up to the the individual
state. At the state level the program is regulated by a state agency.

The best place to find out how which specific telephone and cell phone
providers are authorized is at the Universal Services Fund website titled,
Telephone Assistance Programs for Low Income Households. On the USF website, for
each state, a pull down tab will show all the authorized telephone and cell
phone carriers who can provide free government cell phones and free
government phones.

You'll notice that a lot of the big cell
phone carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon Wireless are probably on your
state's list as being authorized to provide free government cell phones to
low income Americans. In addition there are some niche cell phone
providers who have been created to specifically serve the Lifeline
and Link-Up low income consumers. The largest being Safelink Wireless.
Safelink Wireless is owned by TracFone Wireless which is the largest prepaid
cell phone provider in the US. As of October 2009, SafeLink has over 2 million customers and is
available in 33 states - Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, DC, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West
Virginia and Wisconsin. It is second only to AT&T in serving Lifeline
Link-Up low income consumers.